Thursday, January 6, 2011

Alright, readers, I need your recommendations! I'm headed off on a business trip (*ahem*, in academia, that means giving talks at conferences) to Pittsburgh and New York City for the next while, and there's a very important question on my mind:

Where should I eat?

Please tell me what your favorite eateries in Pittsburgh and NYC are in the comments below!

It just so happens that I'll be in Pittsburgh at the same time as one of my good friends from college, Nate, who's located there now, has his birthday. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said that he wanted a cookie recipe, and when I asked him what kind of cookie recipe he wanted, this is the reply I got: "I want something dead simple and quick. My usual chocolate chip cookie recipe takes more effort than I'm willing to put in." My initial reaction to this was something along the lines of "Wait, wait, WHAAAAA?! How can it *get* any simpler than chocolate chip cookies?!?" But then I got to work and arrived at this recipe: the simplest chocolate chip cookie known to man and yet, so incredibly flavorful, perfectly chewy and toothy in the center, with just the slightest hint of crunch on the outer rim. The first batch of these that I pulled out of the oven disappeared within an hour.

Here's how dead-simple these babies are. There are only seven ingredients: butter, vanilla, salt, brown sugar, eggs, flour, and chocolate chips. (The secret to the extra kick of flavor is letting the butter brown while melting it.) All that's required is one pot, one half-cup measuring cup, and one half-teaspoon measuring spoon. (Read: super simple clean-up). There's no annoying creaming of room-temperature butter with sugar-- just melt the butter in the pot and then stir everything in. This recipe makes six to eight large sized cookies that all fit on one baking sheet, meaning no waiting around for numerous batches, and all you have to do is plop the dough down with a spoon (no shaping of cookies required!) and they will spread themselves out to the perfect round shape. I dare to you try to make a chocolate chip cookie recipe that tastes better and is simpler to make than this!

One final thing: every year at one of the conferences I'm attending, the American Dialect Society votes on Words of the Year. This year, several of us foodie linguists have launched a campaign for "nom" to be voted a Word of the Year because we believe that it's finally time this word be recognized! The nomination process just took place today, and "nom" is a candidate in the running for Word of the Year: Most Useful Word. The vote is tomorrow (Friday), so all of you who are on twitter and believe in the power of "nom," please retweet this message:

I'm not sure if they'll count virtual votes, but it will at least send the message that "nom" is alive and thriving! If you're interested in what other words have been nominated for 2010, the list should go up here sometime soon.

Go "nom"! (which, incidentally, is the perfect word for describing these cookies...)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Set aside.
2. In a light-colored saucepan, melt the butter. Cook on medium heat until the solids drop to the bottom and just begin to brown and the butter smells nutty. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the light brown sugar until combined, followed by the salt and vanilla extract.
4. Stir in the egg until thoroughly combined.
5. Finally stir in the flour, and once that is thoroughly combined, let cool briefly before stirring in the chocolate chips.
6. Spoon six to eight heaps of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave a good amount of space between each cookie.
7. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges just start to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack before enjoying.

Tip: All ingredients can be measured using a 1/2 cup measuring cup and a 1/2 tspn measuring spoon. If doubling the recipe, use a 1 cup measuring cup and a 1 tspn measuring spoon instead.

41 comments:

Well, I can tell where to get some good cookies in NYC: (1) Jacques Torres for the chocolate chip and mudslide cookies, (2) Levain Bakery for the chocolate chip, double chocolate and oatmeal raisin cookies, and (3) Bouchon Bakery for the "nutter butter" peanut butter sandwich cookies. I'm sure there are a ton of other amazing places, but those are a good start!

I love the way the chips look in these pictures. They look kind of like they're straight out of a cartoon - an I mean that in a good way!

I don't know anything about Pittsburgh, but you HAVE to go to Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC. I wasn't crazy about the attached Ssam bar, but you might like it, so check out the menu if you do stop by. I liked Shake Shack, but it's a bit cold for one of their concretes and if the line is as long as it was when I was there, I don't know that waiting for a burger is worth it. They're yummy, but... I dunno. I guess I'm just more likely to wait in line for a sweet thing than a savory one ;)

I hope you have a wonderful time, even if you are there to work. Good luck!

You HAVE to go the Halal Food Cart on the corner of 53rd and 6th in NY for the best lamb/chicken and rice plate in your life. They're only open from like 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. During the day, there's an imposter food cart on the same corner so don't be fooled! Safe travels, Steph!

Ditto to Primanti Bro's in Pittsburgh. You HAVE to go. It's an experience. Now that I live in AZ, I try to make my own Primanti sandwiches here at home. :) I actually can't recommend anything in NYC, but have oodles of fave spots in Pittsburgh! Lulu's Noodles in Oakland is very popular. Italian Village pizza has awesome cheese pizza ... that's in Squirrel Hill on the corner of Forbes & Shady. Pamela's is great for breakfast food & huge fish sandwiches. Wholley's Fish Market ... they serve food there, but a great place to pick up fresh seafood to make at home. If you are Pitt on the weekend, check out the Strip District near downtown.

In your recipe you have 1 stick (4 Tbl.) butter. One stick is 8 Tbl. Do you mean 1 stick OR 4 Tbl.? Enjoying hearing everyone's recommendations for restaurants. My son in college is studying this semester in NYC and is always interested in good places to eat! Well, good places that aren't too expensive. :)

I'll start with Lower East Side because this is one of my favorite parts of the City.You probably have heard of Babycakes, a really cute gluten-free bakery. I think it's worth visiting and trying something but what I like more is Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery where you'll find awesome cupcakes for 1,50$ each.On the same street is Economy Candy Market, a store full of candies from around the world and lots of american oldshcool ones too. If you feel like beginning your day with a bagel instead of a cupcake, head to Russ & Daughters. This jewish shop has been open and run by the same family since 1914! I love their bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon/ lox.If you have never had pastrami sandwich at Katz's, well, it's a must. The size of it is enormous but if you share one with someone you'll be fine;).Dessert? Across the street from Katz's is Il Laboratorio del Gelato with great ice creams and some interesting flavors.

Other places around NYC that you could read about more:

Eataly- italian market/ restaurants, everything in one building

The Spotted Pig- british restaurant, burgers, good quality local ingridients

Cafe Habana- famous for their grilled mexican corn but they have good in general

Locanda Verde- they serve cute and delicious mini burgers

Someone above mentioned Shake Shack. Their burgers are good, fries and desserts also but the place is always packed. Anyway, you can check it out;).

If you're craving for Asian food, you could visit Ktown in Midtown. I like Madangsui a lot, a Korean restaurant.St Marks in East Village tends to be a NYC Japantown but to me that place is a little too commercial. Anyways, you can find there lots of cheap Asian food and a lot of places are definitely fine.

Best places for breakfast/brunch:- Five Points- Clinton St. Baking Company

Like Ula said, definitely check out Eataly. My other favorites are:Mud Cafe in East Village, awesome coffee but also has delicious real food/drinks too.Lombardis in Little Italy, first real pizzeria in America... totally amazing.B Bar, perfect for brunch with amazing mimosas and complimentary homemade banana bread and butter while you wait

In New York: I second the laboratorio del gelato, close to that is Porchetta (try the sandwich. DO try the sandwich) and btw the Tenement Museum in the same street as the icecream is really worthwile. The Doughnut plant: I liked it for its wide choice, but in the end they were..doughnuts (sorry guys, maybe that has to do with the fact I'm not american :-) ) The China Town Ice Cream Factory is fantastic!! Shake shack a great experience, I love the Union Square Cafe to splurge for lunch after a morning at the Farmers market. There's so much, ENJOY!!! (David Lebovitz wrote a lot on NY food in aug '10 on his blog and @ Chocolate and Zucchini you'll also find lots of tips from readers when you search on new york in the blog) Have SO much fun, NY is great!

Have a safe (and delicious) trip back East! Can't speak for Pittsburgh, but gosh, you'll be in heaven in NYC! I have too many favorites, but one of my must eats when I visit home is Joe's Shanghai for their soup filled crab meat dumplings.

BTW, made some chocolate chip cookies this past weekend too. I just love your recipe - simplicity at its best - I'm definitely going to try it!

Like Ula said, definitely check out Eataly. My other favorites are:Mud Cafe in East Village, awesome coffee but also has delicious real food/drinks too.Lombardis in Little Italy, first real pizzeria in America... totally amazing.B Bar, perfect for brunch with amazing mimosas and complimentary homemade banana bread and butter while you wait

I'll start with Lower East Side because this is one of my favorite parts of the City.You probably have heard of Babycakes, a really cute gluten-free bakery. I think it's worth visiting and trying something but what I like more is Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery where you'll find awesome cupcakes for 1,50$ each.On the same street is Economy Candy Market, a store full of candies from around the world and lots of american oldshcool ones too. If you feel like beginning your day with a bagel instead of a cupcake, head to Russ & Daughters. This jewish shop has been open and run by the same family since 1914! I love their bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon/ lox.If you have never had pastrami sandwich at Katz's, well, it's a must. The size of it is enormous but if you share one with someone you'll be fine;).Dessert? Across the street from Katz's is Il Laboratorio del Gelato with great ice creams and some interesting flavors.

Other places around NYC that you could read about more:

Eataly- italian market/ restaurants, everything in one building

The Spotted Pig- british restaurant, burgers, good quality local ingridients

Cafe Habana- famous for their grilled mexican corn but they have good in general

Locanda Verde- they serve cute and delicious mini burgers

Someone above mentioned Shake Shack. Their burgers are good, fries and desserts also but the place is always packed. Anyway, you can check it out;).

If you're craving for Asian food, you could visit Ktown in Midtown. I like Madangsui a lot, a Korean restaurant.St Marks in East Village tends to be a NYC Japantown but to me that place is a little too commercial. Anyways, you can find there lots of cheap Asian food and a lot of places are definitely fine.

Best places for breakfast/brunch:- Five Points- Clinton St. Baking Company

Ditto to Primanti Bro's in Pittsburgh. You HAVE to go. It's an experience. Now that I live in AZ, I try to make my own Primanti sandwiches here at home. :) I actually can't recommend anything in NYC, but have oodles of fave spots in Pittsburgh! Lulu's Noodles in Oakland is very popular. Italian Village pizza has awesome cheese pizza ... that's in Squirrel Hill on the corner of Forbes & Shady. Pamela's is great for breakfast food & huge fish sandwiches. Wholley's Fish Market ... they serve food there, but a great place to pick up fresh seafood to make at home. If you are Pitt on the weekend, check out the Strip District near downtown.

You HAVE to go the Halal Food Cart on the corner of 53rd and 6th in NY for the best lamb/chicken and rice plate in your life. They're only open from like 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. During the day, there's an imposter food cart on the same corner so don't be fooled! Safe travels, Steph!